Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Cheryl Brause. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Cheryl, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

When my youngest daughter was in kindergarten, after dropping off my older children at school, we would sit at a small local cafe and get breakfast together. One day, she sat with her muffin, her tiny body on the big seat across from me, and began to tell me a story. As she was talking, my mind began to wander, thinking about all the things I had to do that day. Suddenly, her small voice broke through my rumination and she asked, “Right mommy?” I realized that I had not heard a word she said and didn’t know how to respond because I had missed her entire story. I felt awful. What was more important than her? What was so pressing that I missed these precious moments with my little girl? It was then that I realized I had to do something differently. I wanted to be more present in my life and with the ones I loved.

Around that same time, my husband sensed I was stressed. He asked what he could do for me to help. I told him that I needed some time alone. So, he kindly took all three of my young children on a Sunday morning and left me at home for some quiet time alone. I was relieved and grateful. But as soon as they left, I saw the piles of laundry, my long to do list, and in inbox full of emails. Back came all that tension and stress – where to begin. This was not what I wanted on my “day off.” It was then that I realized that all the chaos and stress was not coming from the outside world, but it was from inside me. I need to approach things differently. I needed to find a way to cope with this busy life I had in a healthier way and better manage my inside world.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

About 20 years ago, I had what seemed like the “perfect” life. I had worked on Wall Street as an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs. I then attended NYU Law School and, upon graduation, I got a job as a corporate litigator. In addition to an impressive career, I had three healthy children, a wonderful life partner, a home in the suburbs, and financial stability. I had all the things I had worked so hard for, but I wasn’t truly happy. There was always that one more thing that I was searching for. I was constantly striving for what was next, trying to get to that next thing that would bring me happiness, rather than enjoying where I was or what I had. I was too busy to enjoy motherhood, too distracted to enjoy my work, too exhausted to enjoy my marriage.

Then, someone asked me if I wanted to take a meditation class. I said, “Sure!” When I did, I truly had an “Aha moment.” I realized that I didn’t have to alway show up in this way, always wanting what was next instead of enjoying what was right in front of me. I didn’t have to always value some imaginary future moment more than the moment at hand. I didn’t have to live in a chronic state of stress in order to feel fully alive. There was a different way of being that would bring me more peace, joy, and contentment.

It was at this time in my life that I fell in love with this new way of being and wanted to share it with anyone who would listen. I began to dive deeply into my meditation practice, I went on silent retreats, got certified to teach, and spent hours and hours practicing meditation on my own. In 2010, I began to teach classes in a small local studio. Since that small beginning, I have taught thousands of people how to meditate. I now work with large corporate clients and organizations teaching mindfulness. I have created a large online community that mediates together every day. I offer classes and workshops around the country. And, I am a teacher of several mediation apps.

I love what I do, I think in today’s busy, stressful and chaotic world, we all need easy and accessible ways to find some inner peace and calm. We all need ways to access joy and contentment. We cannot change the world or avoid the stressors in it, but we can change the way we meet and relate to them. This is my passion and my life’s work.

It doesn’t have to be hard. I have created easy and accessible ways to learn how to meditate and be more mindful. I also believe strongly in the power of group meditation and we offer people ways to sit together and breathe every day. I am so proud of the community we have built and the tools we offer people to live happier, healthier lives.

We offer many ways to learn. We have in person classes and workshops for individuals, organizations and groups, online daily sessions, corporate wellness programs, silent meditation retreats, destination wellness retreat, and school mindfulness programs, There are so many ways to learn and we meet people where they are to deliver great content and practice tools.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We had to make a BIG pivot during COVID. We had just opened a small physical studio in November of 2019. At that time, we were focusing on creating a community gathering space for people to learn and practice meditation in person, together. Our business was just starting to build when the pandemic hit. We were not able to use our space (that we had poured a ton of money into) and our business model could no longer .work. We were faced with a choice – shut down or pivot.

Within a week, we created a fully virtual mediation space online. We offered free classes for anyone who wanted to breathe together as the pandemic hit and we were all staying home. We had 50, 60, 70 people logging on each day to connect and breathe together from the safety of their own homes.

We worked hard. We spend endless hours and sleepless lights creating the technology and platform to do this. We found the need and pivoted our business model to meet that need. And to this day, we continue to offer a virtual space for people to gather and we have people joining us from all over the country to form this amazing community.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Authenticity. It is SO important to be authentic and honest. We want people to know that we are all in this together and we are all trying to find our way forward. We strive to be relatable and ourselves. We don’t pretend to be anything that we are not. We try very hard to “stay in our lane” and do what we do, and do it well. I think that is what makes us successful..

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pausetobepresent.com. www.2bpresent.com
• Instagram: @cherylbrause. @pausetobepresent
• Facebook: Cheryl Brause and Pause to be Present
• Linkedin: Cheryl Brause and Pause to be Present
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cherylbrause4751